By Asia Samachar | India |
A day after the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami expressed concern over the confiscation of two holy saroops (copies) of Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib in Doha, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said on Friday that India has raised the issue with Qatar and is working to ensure their respectful return, reports Hindustan Times.
“Keeping the ‘saroops’ confiscated at a police station is a disrespect that cannot be tolerated. This matter was recently brought to the notice of the Akal Takht Jathedar by UK-based Bhai Kanhaiya Humanitarian Aid following which the SGPC pursued the matter,” Dhami said.
Accordiong to the report, the Bhai Kanhaiya Humanitarian Aid found that a Sikh man was arrested by Doha police in Qatar in December last year. He was later released, but the two ‘saroops’ taken from him are still kept at Al Wakara police station by the Doha police.
Dhami was reported to have said that the Sikh man had been practising the Sikh faith privately along with local community members at a gurdwara established in his private property at Birkat Al-Awamer without any public display due to strict restrictions of Qatar government on the non-Islamic faiths’ public worship. Dhami sought the release of the ‘saroops’ and their reinstallation on the same premises.
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